CDC NSSP: Emergency Department Respiratory Condition Visits by Age

National Syndromic Surveillance Program data tracks the percentage of emergency department visits for 14 clinically defined respiratory condition categories, stratified by age group. The dataset is derived from ICD-10-CM discharge diagnostic codes, refined using the Acute Respiratory Index and Clinical Classifications Software Refined categories. It provides near-real-time surveillance coverage from emergency departments in all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and Guam.

Use Cases

• Tracking weekly trends in respiratory condition prevalence using `week_end` and `percent_visits`.
• Comparing disease burden across different age cohorts using `age_group` and `condition`.
• Analyzing seasonal patterns for specific respiratory categories like asthma or pneumonia using `condition` and `week_end`.
• Monitoring syndromic surveillance signals for public health alerts using `percent_visits` and `week_end`.

Strengths

• Covers a national-scale network of emergency departments in all 50 states, D.C., and Guam.
• Data is structured around 14 clinically meaningful respiratory condition categories derived from standardized ICD-10-CM and CCSR codes.
• Provides age-stratified analysis, enabling demographic trend examination.

Limitations

• Key metadata conflicts exist: one platform lists an 'other-license-specified' license, while others list the license as null or unknown.
• Core dataset metrics like row count and total size are not provided on any platform.
• The description references external technical briefs and code lists for full methodological details, which are not self-contained.

Provenance

Source

National Syndromic Surveillance Program (NSSP), a collaboration among CDC, local and state health departments, and private sector partners.

Collection Method

Automated electronic healthcare data from emergency department visits, analyzed using ICD-10-CM codes grouped via the Acute Respiratory Index and Clinical Classifications Software Refined (CCSR) categories.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Last updated on 2026-04-11 according to one source, with another source listing 2026-04-03.

Geography

United States (all 50 states, District of Columbia, and Guam).